Minnow rig



Jan. 25, 1955 BLAlR ET AL 2,700,241

MINNOW RIG Filed Dec. 15, 1952 v INVENTORS' E/mer' L. 5/00" (5GeorgePE/a/r 1 9! 5 BY I Aizorneg United States Patent MINNOW RIG ElmerL. Blair and George P. Blair, Williamsport, Pa.

Application December 15, 1952, Serial No. 326,013

1 Claim. (Cl. 4344.2)

This invention relates to a fish lure and more particularly to a devicefor securing a minnow upon the leader of a fish line, and it consists inthe constructions arrangements and combinations herein described andclaimed.

It is an important object of the invention to provide a minnow wire orrig which may be readily inserted and secured in the body of a minnow,which will be invisible to a fish being attracted thereto, and whichwill hold the minnow rigid, without tearing or otherwise destroying theshape or looks of the minnow.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide a rigwhich may be readily passed longitudinally through the body of a minnow,the rig having an eyelet at one end for securement of a hook, the otherend having an eyelet for securement of a leader of a fish line, the rigfurther having a means adjacent the last named eyelet for penetratingthe back bone of the minnow for securing the minnow upon the rig.

Additional objects, advantages and features of invention will beapparent from the following description considered in conjunction withthe accompanying drawing, wherein Figure l is a side elevation of aminnow having a rig installed therein,

Figure 2 is a similar view illustrating the insertion of the rig.

Figure 3 is the same as Fig. 1 with portions of the minnow broken awayillustrating the final installation of the rig within the minnow.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of a wire illustrating the first stage inthe formation of the rig.

dFigure 5 is a similar view illustrating the second stage, an

Figure 6 is a side elevation of the finished rig.

There is illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3 a minnow generally indicatedby the reference character 10 and as clearly shown in Figure l, a rig 11disposed within the minnow has a double hook 12 suspended at a pointadjacent the tail 13 of the minnow, it being noted that the rig 11 isenclosed within the minnow with only the leader 14 exposed, extendingthrough the mouth of the minnow, the leader including a swivel 15, as iscustomary.

Inasmuch as different sized minnows are used by fishermen, the rig 11will be constructed of different lengths and in any event, theconstruction of the rig is the same, the only requirement being theproper length of wire employed in the formation of the rig.

Attention is now invited to Figures 4, 5 and 6 of the drawing,illustrating the several stages in the construction of the rig. Astraight steel wire 16 of small diameter is employed, one end of whichis bent to form an eyelet 17, the terminal end being wound to provide aplurality of coils 18, as shown in Figure 4. As shown in Figure 5, theopposite end of the wire is bent to form an eyelet 19 and this end ofthe wire is likewise wound upon itself to provide a plurality of coils20, the terminal end 21 extending approximately at right angles to theeyelet 19. The end 21 of the wire is next bent so as to overlie theeyelet 19 at an angle thereto and upwardly disposed and of a length toextend a distance "ice beyond the eyelet, as clearly shown in Figure 6.The end 21 of the wire will function as a barb for securing the rig inthe back bone of the minnow, as will be presently described.

The eyelet 19 and associated barb 21 will be considered as the front endof the rig, While eyelet 17 is the rear end thereof to which the hook 12is to be suspended when assembled within a minnow.

To install the rig within a minnow, an open-eyed needle 22 is employedof a length greater than the minnow so that it may project outwardly ofthe mouth of the minnow and also through the vent thereof. The eyelet 17is engaged in the open end of the needle with the leader 14 secured tothe eyelet 19, as shown in Figure 2, the bar 21 being presented in anupward direction. The needle 22 is now moved or drawn longitudinallyrearwardly of the minnow until the rig is positioned interiorly of theminnow with the eyelet 17 slightly exposed at the vent of the minnow sothat the hook may be secured in the eyelet 17, after removal of theneedle. When the rig was moved inwardly of the minnow, the inclined bar21 will have flexed downwardly permitting entrance of the rig throughthe mouth of the minnow, but will assume its normal inclined positionthereafter. After the hook has been secured to the eyelet 17, the leader14 is drawn forwardly effecting a similar movement of the rig 11 causingthe barb 21 to enter the bony structure of the minnow. The rig being ofproper length, the eyelet 17 will be concealed within the minnow withonly the hook exposed. The coils 18 and 20 being of a diameter greaterthan the wire 16 they will frictionally contact the interior body of theminnow and will thus insure stability to the rig.

When it becomes necessary to remove a minnow from the rig, it is onlynecessary to detach the leader 14 from the swivel 15 and draw rearwardlyupon the hook 12.

From the foregoing it will be seen that a minnow rig has been providedwhich is cheap to manufacture and which will withstand severe strainsupon a minnow and without liability of loss thereof during casting ortrolling.

While we have shown and described a preferred form of the device, thisis by Way of illustration only, and we consider as our own all suchmodifications in construction as fairly fall within the scope of theappended claim.

We claim:

As a new article of manufacture, a minnow rig formed from a singlestrand of steel wire and adapted to be drawn longitudinally through aminnow, said wire being bent to form a first eyelet at one end thereoffor attachment to a fishing line, a portion of the wire adjacent thefirst eyelet being bent about the adjacent portion of the strand of wireto form a plurality of coils, the end of said wire of the rearmost coilprojecting laterally and forwardly therefrom at an upward inclination toform a barb, and the end of said strand of wire opposite from the firsteyelet being bent at its other end to form a second eyelet forengagement with fish hooks, said second eyelet terminating in aplurality of coils surrounding said strand, said barb extending beyondand overlying the first named eyelet whereby said barb will penetratethe bony structure of the minnow when said rig is moved in one directionlongitudinally of the minnow, and said coils being all of the sameoutside diameter to frictionally contact the interior body of theminnow.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,461,246 Lent July 10, 1923 2,288,009 Matasy et a1 June 30, 19422,603,026 Duty July 15, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 260,496 Switzerland Mar.31, 1949

